Love Sucks
by Void.Of.Memory
Summary: A collection of 5 short stories, all revolving around love. Some spoilers for City of Glass. More details about each story are written before each story.  This summery isn't very good. You could just read it.
1. Shouting Match

**Okay, so this is how these five stories are gonna go- five pretty short stories about Valentine's Day, from different characters's point of views. They are all on Feb. 14th, and all have the theme of love- and how much it can suck. Not that I have anything against love, I just think can cause funny situations. **

**This first one is Alec/Jace.**

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><p>It was February the 14, a day usually filled with love and couples. But, in the New York Institute something else was happening.<p>

"I'm sick and tired of protecting you!"

"Why do you even bother?"

Alec and Jace were fighting at a volume that shook the building. Hodge and Isabelle had long fled from the library, and Church had been missing since before the explosion had happened.

"Because if I didn't protect you, you'd throw yourself into the fights and be dead by now!" Alec yelled. The raven-haired boy was so frustrated with his blond friend. Jace attacked demons without abandon, and even if it worked sometimes, Alec would still have to drag Jace away from the fight, bleeding and broken, more often than not.

"Maybe I don't want your protection!" Jace hollered right back. "I can do fine on my own!"

"I refuse to find out that you died Jace!" Alec bellowed. "And if I could have protected you..." His voice broke, and he had to re-steel himself against the thought of Jace cold and lifeless. "I will not have that!" He roared after banishing the tormenting thoughts.

They were standing a few feet apart, fists clenched. The anger in both of them was frightening.

"Why do you want to protect me so badly?" Jace screamed. "Why bother?"

"BECAUSE I LOVE YOU!" Alec's voice had never been louder, or so full of emotion.

Jace's expression would have been comical to Alec if the moment hadn't been serious. He looked as if Robert had just danced across the room in a frilly pink tutu. And while Jace was frozen, Alec was breathing hard, cheat heaving. After all the noise, the silence was deafening.

"What did you just say?" Jace whispered. Alec couldn't tell if it was in amazement or horror.

"Jace, I..." Alec, after screaming out what he had wanted to say for so long, had no other words to say.

The blond Shadowhunter closed the gap between them in a single, smooth movement. His amber eyes were shut, but it they had have been open, he would have been looking his adopted brother square in his azure eyes.

"Alec, please tell me-" The Wayland boy stared started.

"No, Jace I understand if you don't-" Alec interrupted in a stammer.

Jace's hand flew up and pressed against the taller boy's lips. The young Lightwood boy was effectively silenced.

"See, the thing is Alec," Jace whispered as he slowly opened his eyes, "Is that I do feel the same way."

Alec's heart stopped. "You're lying."

"I wouldn't lie about this."

It was Alec's turn to shut his eyes. He could smell Jace- it was his secret addiction. The real thing was so much better than the memories he had stored. And the scent of chocolate, mixed with the smell of steel and the seraph blades, lent a intoxicating sweetness. Alec was suddenly thankful that Hodge had wanted to teach his three students about mundane holidays.

The young Shadowhunters' breaths mingled, and Alec could taste the semi-sweet confection on his tongue.

Suddenly, the Lightwood boy's arms took up a mind of their own. Alec grabbed Jace's collar and pulled his body to his own. The blonde boy tilted his face up and their lips met. The bitter tang of metal spread along Alec's mouth and he shivered.

Night and day hair became entwined as the kiss intensified. Alec felt like his was dreaming- all of his fantasies seemed pathetic compared to this. He slid his hands from Jace's shirt to his hair, and roughly pulled the boy even closer.

"Alec," Jace panted against his friend. "I need you to tell me something."

"Anything." Alec murmured.

"What are three plants that can counteract demon poison?" He asked in a surprisingly clear and demanding voice.

Alec smiled; what a silly question to be asking. And how was he doing that? Jace's tongue was seemingly very occupied.

Suddenly, Jace was saying Alec's name. "Alec... Alec! ALEC!" He shouted angrily.

TWANG! Alec sat up with a start, shocked out of his dream. A small dagger wobbled in the desk, inches from where his face had been.

"Alexander, please pay attention." Hodge sighed as he put is arm back by his side. He paused, then signed even deeper. "Or at least stop drooling on the desk."


	2. I Hate Clary

**This one is about Isabelle. At the Institute, I guess. Not sure how I feel about this one.**

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><p>As I saw Clary, I grumbled to myself, a little pissed. How did Clary do it? The girl has the eyes of three guys on her, and she doesn't even notice. And why were those eyes on her anyways? Clary's red mane was hardly tame, her make up was sloppy and the redhead didn't walk- she tripped.<p>

And yet, Simon, Alec and Jace were all throwing glances when Clary wasn't paying attention, appraising her with looks or just out right staring.

The fact that Simon was one of the guys with his eyes glued on her doesn't bother me at all. I find it amusing that Clary hadn't yet noticed that he was a head-over heel for her. And Alec was only looking because Jace was. If there was something in Clary that Alec could copy to get Jace's attention, well, he'd probably do it.

No, it was the fact that Jace was staring that bothers me. Don't get me wrong- any crush I had for Jace vanished in a fiasco a few years back. I couldn't care less who or what he was sleeping with now. But the look in Jace's eyes- yeah, that was what was bothering me. The way he looked at her- it was as if he couldn't stop himself. Like he was addicted to the sight of her. His eyes, when they were on her- and only her- were so full of -God I hate this word- love. Nobody has ever looked at me like that: none of my boyfriends- some of them weren't even capable of love, really. Alec- I guess he loves me, but he wouldn't ever look at me like that. And my parents? Don't make me laugh- they don't even look at each other like that. Maybe they loved each other at one point, but the Circle probably ruined some of the romance.

Why has no one ever loved me like that? What does Clary have that I don't? I just don't get it! She has two guys who would die for her and she doesn't even care or anything! And that girl shouldn't even be here! All she's done so far is ruin things! I guess she helped by getting Magnus involved with us, but still! Does she know how much it hurts my brother when Jace kisses her? And Jace has changed completely! He is a completely different person when she's around. I hate the new Jace- I want the old one back. The one who didn't care about people.

No. I don't want that Jace back. I'm just jealous I guess. I'm so jealous that I'm surprised I'm not green. Clary's is not bad- she's pretty nice, I guess. She did come all this way to give Alec and Jace chocolates for that stupid mundane holiday.

... Wait, what's this? She got one for me too? God damn it Clary! Why do you have to be so nice? It would be so much easier if I could just hate you.


	3. Maple Syrup

**Alec/Magnus story! My ****favourite! **

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><p>"So Magnus," Alec asked as he snuggled up to his favorite warlock, "What were you doing this day last year?"<p>

Magnus, who had done his make up in traditional red and pink hues, shifted uncomfortably against the Shadowhunter. He remembered very well what he had been doing last year; a few too many fairy drinks had led to some unsavory actions with a member or the Unseelie Court. Not that the warlock would tell Alec that. The raven-haired boy could get surprisingly jealous. He had to think of a story that wouldn't make Alec uncomfortable with how much –ahem- experience he had.

"It's not much of a story." Magnus lied smoothly. "What I was doing Valentine's Day 100 years ago is a much better story."

Alec sat up. He loved to hear Magnus talk about his past. "What happened?"

"Well," Magnus started," I was in Canada, first of all."

"What were you doing there?" Alec laughed. "Fighting polar bears and skinning beavers?"

Magnus sighed. Why did Americans think Canada was only filled with those two things? "No, I was there for the maple syrup."

"What's so good about it?" Alec asked. He sipped some of the tea that Magnus had conjured up a few minutes ago. "You can just get it here."

"That means that you've never tried Canadian maple syrup then." Magnus shook his head. "I still have some- we can make pancakes later. Any way, back to the story. I was in Canada, trying to find some cheep maple syrup in easy to conceal containers…"

"Why?" Alec interrupted again.

"Could you please stop interrupting?" Magnus sighed, "I hate getting cut off mid stream."

"But why the-"

"Alexander." Magnus turned to look his date straight in the eyes. "I will get to that."

Alec just nodded.

"Good. Now, where was I?"

"The bottles-"

"I said no more interrupting!" Magnus growled, then re-positioned himself so that he would be most comfortable, and still have more than half of his body against Alec. "Ah, yes the bottles. Well, there was a lot of contraband maple syrup being sold in the Unseelie Court and in the Vampire Clans- don't ask me why, I still don't know- and I figured I should get in on it. So, I went up to Canada and bought a whole caseload. Then, I sent it through some dimensions so that it would end up in my apartment. Once I had a whole whack load, I sold them and made mint."

Magnus picked up his tea and finished it off. Alec stared at the sparkly warlock expectantly. After a whole minuet of silence, Alec finally spoke up.

"What happened next?" He asked excitedly.

Magnus turned his head to look at the boy. The Shadowhunter's eyes were gleaming with expectations and anticipation. "There isn't anything else.'

Alec slumped forward. "That's it?"

"Yep."

"That was the worst story you ever told!" Alec scoffed

"What was wrong with that story?" Magnus frowned.

"Nothing happened! I was expecting a story with love or something!"

Magnus' frown deepened. "Why would you think that?

"It's Valentine's Day. I thought stories like that were a given." Alec waved his hands around like it would help his boyfriend understand.

"Well, do you have any?" Magnus asked.

Alec turned the color of Magnus' eyeshadow. "N-no."

Magnus leaned over to kiss his boyfriend. "Well, neither do I." _At least, _Magnus thought to himself,_ I don't have any that you need to hear. _


	4. Power of the Paper Hearts

**Here, we got ourselves a Luke/Jocelyn story. Clary is pretty young during this one.**

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><p>Luke surveyed the table, making sure he forgot nothing. "Flowers, coffee, candy for Clary, red heart confetti..." He muttered to himself, "That's been taken care of. What am I missing?"<p>

The werewolf scratched his head in vain to think of what he had forgotten. He pulled a list out of his pocket, and re-read it.

"Chocolate!" He groaned. "Of course."

"What's wrong Luke?" A woman asked from behind him.

Luke turned slowly. He had hoped to get his Valentine's surprise finished before Jocelyn got up. It wasn't even 6 A.M.

"I forgot the chocolate." He muttered. He had been so close this year...!

Jocelyn sighed. "Luke, I told you last year that you don't have to do this."

He shifted awkwardly. "I know, but I couldn't help it."

Jocelyn crept closer to the table, and to Luke. "Heart confetti? Clary will get this stuck in everything when she finds it."

Luke felt crushed. He had cut it out all himself. His hands still hurt. He should have known it was pointless; Jocelyn would never get what he was hinting at.

"Sorry, I should have thought of that. I forgot Clary's only 5." He sighed, turning to the table. "I'll clean it up, then."

"Wait Luke." Luke turned. Jocelyn was biting her lip. He loved when she did that. "You can leave it."

"You don't have to deal with finding this stuff everywhere for the next three months to spare my feelings Jocelyn." Luke replied tiredly. Why did he even bother?

"No no!" She smiled slightly. "I like it! I could work it into a new painting I'm starting on."

"That still means I have to clean it up."

"... I'll help then."

They cleaned in silence. Luke felt more pathetic by the minute. Would he ever be able to tell her? Would he risk that?

"The flowers are nice."

"I'm glad you like them." He muttered. A dozen red roses, and she didn't get it. Next year, he wouldn't even bother. He would save a bunch of money, and get a lot more sleep.

"The coffee is good." Jocelyn tired again to get Luke to talk. "What's in this?"

"Irish creamer." The werewolf finished sweeping the little hearts into a bag and left it on the table. He did his best to keep his emotion in check as he moved to go get his coat. God, he was stupid. How would some coffee and heart-shaped confetti make her love him back? "I meant to slip in and out unnoticed again. Sorry for waking you."

"You didn't wake me Luke." Jocelyn padded up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. "I was waiting for you."

Luke was dumbstruck. "Whatever for?"

"To give you this." Jocelyn pulled a red box from a bag by the door. "You always forget the chocolate, so I thought I'd give you some."

Luke opened the box and pulled out a small, heart shaped chocolate, and bit it in half. Judging by the taste, they hadn't been cheap.

"Want the other half?" He offered.

"Thanks." Jocelyn sighed as Luke place the candy in her mouth. They both chewed pensively for a moment.

"You know Luke," They both turned and looked at each other. "I really do appreciate that you do this for me."

Luke smiled. Maybe he would do this again next year- who knows what coffee and little paper hearts could do?


	5. Valentine's Day

**Story number 5! It is also, alas, the final story. Hoped you enjoyed these stories. They all belong to Cassandra Clare, by the way.**

**This one is Valentine and Jonathan/Sebastian. **

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><p>"Father? What's going on?" The boy squealed.<p>

Vaentine sighed. He had hoped his day would never come. He had been avoiding it for almost a month, but looks like he had no choice now. Jonathan would finally have to be told.

"Father, why is it so… red? And why is your name everywhere?" The boy sounded frightened, for some odd reason.

Oh God, why did it have to come like this? Valentine shook his head and mentally went through his speech.

"Well, son, human are very strange."

"I know that Father. But this is-" Jonathan interrupted.

"Quiet. Let me finish. Now, you know that they have holidays like Christmas. Well, this is another one. Only, they seemed to have named it after me, for some reason."

"'Valentine's Day?' Why is this your day? Do I get a day?" He whined.

The older Shadowhunter rubbed his temples. An eight-year old half demon son was more trying than he had thought. "No, you don't."

"Why is everything red? You don't like the color red."

"Yes, I know that Jonathan. The red is supposed to represent the love two people feel for each other. The heart represents that too, or so I'm told. They buy candy and chocolate for someone they like to show their affection for that person. Flowers are also given."

Jonathan looked around at the shops covered in red and pink. After a moment, he shook his head. "Flowers and chocolate and candy? Those things show how much you love someone?" He burst out laughing. "Mundanes are stupid."

"Yes, son." Valentine agreed. "They really are."

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><p><strong>Like the stories? Have suggestions? REVIEW THEN! Happy Valentine's Day! Or, if you're like me, Happy Another-Day-That-You-Don't-Have-A-Date-For!<strong>


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